IoT as a Multi-Faceted Game Changer in 2021 and Beyond

There is no second-guessing the predominance of the IT industry, despite the catastrophic effects of the pandemic felt across diverse verticals. While almost every IT-aligned specialization picked up pace in 2020, we were most impressed by the growth of IoT or Internet of Things. With physical distancing and restricted outdoor excavates being the existential norms, organizations started relying more on IoT for pitching forth several interconnected solutions.

With every industry looking to survive the post-covid19 drought, it is obvious that IoT can have a major role to play when it comes to guaranteeing stability or even growth. Be it the likes of cashless payment modules for offline stores or smart sensors as parts of the healthcare rejig, IoT is slowly but steadily showcasing immense potential en-route to $2.4 trillion market value each year by the end of 2027.

IoT in Retail

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A majority of global businesses have already shifted towards smart supermarkets, connected deliveries, unified delivery tracking systems across stores, cashless payments, and shipment tracking solutions for future-proofing the retail space. Internet of Things has, therefore, spanned across first, middle, and last-mile solutions with comparable gusto whilst allowing warehouses to cut down on manual labor.

With almost 96 percent of the retail industry stalwarts ready to invest in IoT, 2021 might be the year of reckoning for the IoT-enabled robots in warehousing, RFID solution, advanced logistics resources, and real-time supply chain details for facilitating faster fulfillment.

IoT in Gaming

Gamers are expected to have their hands full going into 2021, especially when IoT-powered gaming solutions are concerned. While we are already aware of the concepts of VR gaming, IoT has the capability to drive gamification in several non-gaming verticals like health monitoring and fitness application, precisely to make the resources more indulgent.

For example, IoT, paired with Augmented Reality, will ensure that reliance on the Pokemon ROM hacks is justified, and you can play a diverse version of Pokémon games by projecting your consciousness as the monster trainer. Therefore, a gamer in 2021 and beyond will not be tied to the gaming consoles and cables, courtesy of unmatched mobility. With IoT to rely on, gamers will be able to carry their gaming consciousness around in their tablets or smartphones.

Healthcare and IoT

Healthcare has been the focal point of a majority of global discussions in the post-pandemic era. While online consultations and curated medications have been the pillars of modern medicine, the Internet of Things is expected to shift the focus to evolved remote care and other possibilities, pertaining to Smart Insulin administration via CGM, symptom-tracking corresponding to cancer care, automated insulin delivery, ingestible sensors, and other relevant inclusions.

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To combat the side-effects of Covid19 and the underlining conditions, IoT can be deployed extensively to make Connected Inhalers a reality. Currently, these inhalers are available as sensors that adhere to the underlying physical conditions, blood oxygen levels, allergies and are attached to the full-sized spirometers and inhaler. Connected Inhalers make it easier to forecast health conditions and offer top-notch preventative care.

IoT in healthcare is also getting commercial recognition, with Apple using wearable technology attributes for manufacturing a depression monitoring Smart Watch.

IoT for Corporations

Have you ever considered the role of IoT in improving employee productivity? If not, 2021 might see corporate establishment relying extensively on the concepts to streamline the work-from-home initiatives via virtual meeting resources, automated security patch updated, AI-powered conferencing tools, and more.

Not just that, the concept and implementation of IoT can also amplify workplace productivity via connected printers for tracking maintenance, smart lights for intelligent power saving, IoT tagging for tracking resources, IoT heat mapping sensors, connected thermostats, and more.

Cross-Vertical IoT Implementations

While we did focus on gaming, retail, healthcare, and establishments to analyze the future prospects of IoT implementation, the possibilities are almost endless and often span across diverse verticals.

Order management system, monitored and curated in real-time, as per traffic congestion, weather conditions, and nearest vehicle location, is one example that takes several verticals into account, for devising a more cohesive IoT working module.

New York’s Air Brake system is already using a more decisive rendition of IoT where real-time fuel-efficiency, train performance, and timeliness can be determined using data exhibited by the remote sensors.

Bottom-Line

A discussion concerning IoT and the associated implementations extend beyond human contemplation, courtesy of almost infinite options to account for. Be it monitoring weather unpredictability to airtight forecasting or envisioning more advanced forms of driverless vehicle operability systems, IoT has taken the concept of contactless to a more realizable level.

Therefore, it isn’t wrong to consider IoT as the next big thing in the tech space, especially when the restrictive post-pandemic era is concerned.

Lead image via Pixabay